| Sir Gilbert Blane, Bt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 August 1749 Blanefield, by Kirkoswald, Ayrshire |
| Died | 26 June 1834 London |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Fields | medicine |
| Alma mater | Edinburgh University Glasgow University (MD 1778) |
| Known for | use of lemon juice obligatory to prevent scurvy |
| Influences | Lord Rodney |
Sir Gilbert Blane of Blanefield, 1st Baronet FRSE FRS MRCP (29 August 1749 – 26 June 1834) was a Scottish physician who instituted health reform in the Royal Navy.[1]
Born in Blanefield, by Kirkoswald, in Ayrshire, he studied medicine at Edinburgh University and Glasgow University (MD 1778)[1] before moving to London, where he served as private physician to Lord Rodney. Blane was appointed Physician to the Fleet (1779–1783) and accompanied Rodney to the West Indies in 1779. Blane did much to improve the health of sailors by heeding their diet and enforcing due sanitary precautions. Largely due to his advocacy, the entire navy in 1795 [2] made the use of lemon juice mandatory to prevent scurvy. For this reason, "limey" (lemons being replaced by limes, which could be obtained from Britain's Caribbean colonies) later became a common slang word for a British person. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in December 1784 and delivered their Croonian lecture in 1788. [3]
He became Physician to St Thomas' Hospital (1783-1795), Physician Extraordinary to the Prince of Wales (1785) and Physician in Ordinary to the King (George IV and William IV). By virtue of these court and hospital appointments, he built up a good practice for himself in London, and the government constantly consulted him on questions of public hygiene. In 1812 he became a baronet, of Blanefield in the County of Ayr, in reward for services he rendered in connection with the return of the Walcheren expedition.
His printed works include Observations on the Diseases of Seamen (1795) and Elements of Medical Logic (1819).
Blane lived at Burghfield in Berkshire and at Kirkoswald in Ayrshire. He died in Piccadilly on 26 June 1834.